One Winter Awakening
by AmericanPi
Summary: (One-shot) Unable to attend Oblivia's Winter Awakening, Supurna lays miserably in bed until her friend Summer visits her and reminds her that her true friends will always be there for her.


**A/N: I originally published this one-shot on January 14th, 2016 on SPPf.** **Like everything I've written, this fic will be revised eventually during one of my Rewrite Months (Februaries).**

 **This one-shot is my response to the prompt in Edition 3 of SPPf's Fan Fiction Quarterly. The challenge was to write a holiday fic about a holiday that doesn't exist, with extra credit going to those who create a holiday that in no way resembles Christmas but is still very obviously winter-themed.**

 **When I saw the prompt, I immediately thought, "It will include Articuno" because Articuno is my all-time favorite Pokemon. As I brainstormed some ideas around that criterion, I came up with something that I'm quite proud of. I hope this fic fits the prompt - it's more about a festival and tradition than a holiday, but since the festival is celebrated by a good number of people in an entire Pokemon World region, I guess it counts as a holiday. :P**

 **As a side note, Supurna, the main character of this one-shot, isn't an OC - she's a rather obscure canon character from Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy "One Winter Awakening".**

* * *

Supurna remembered happier times.

The Rainbow Festival, for instance. Three months ago she was still happily married, to the ex-husband whom she had no idea was a terrible person. They had flown to Cocona Town on Renbow Island together to take part in the Rainbow Festival, which was one of the four Gatherings celebrated by the people of Oblivia every year.

That Rainbow Festival, which had taken place on the fourth of October, was like any other Gathering. As with every Gathering, the people of the archipelago of Oblivia had gathered for three days to celebrate changing seasons, show their appreciation for peace, and share news with each other. It was full of happiness and gratitude, as a Gathering should be.

Supurna was happy then.

Supurna remembered times even before then where she was happier than she was now.

Seventeen years ago came to her mind. Before she even met the man who would become part of the reason why she was so unhappy now, she had assisted Pokemon Rangers Rand, Ben, and Summer in stopping the immoral activities of the Pokemon Pinchers and the Societea. Her understanding of Flying-type Pokemon had helped the Rangers greatly, and they had often asked her to summon Pokemon of the sky to assist in their endeavors. Supurna had always gladly helped the Rangers, and had received their deepest thanks after the downfall of the Societea.

Supurna was happy then.

The year after the fall of the Societea, Nema, Rand's daughter, suggested the idea of the Gatherings. During that year's Rainbow Festival, the young scientist proposed her idea to everyone who was gathered in Cocona Village. Supurna was living on Sophian Island back then and wasn't there to witness the creation of the Awakenings herself, but she knew of Nema's speech from Summer, her close friend.

"We should do this more often," the bright, blue-haired girl had said, giving her speech on the ceremonial Rainbow Dais. "This year, things were changed up a bit by our visitors from Mitonga and Sophian. It was a good change, though! We had a lot of fun and learned about a lot of happenings. I thought it was really fun to connect with people on other islands. How about all of you?"

The gathered crowd had let out a roar of approval. Then someone had raised his hand.

He had said, "How about once every three months? We can gather here once every season to share news with each other, and stuff like that."

"That's a great idea," Nema had said, as heads nodded in approval. "The Rainbow Festival is held in the autumn, so all we need to do is gather here on Renbow Island in the spring, summer, and winter."

"Incidentally, Moltres awakens in the spring, Zapdos awakens in the summer, and Articuno awakens in the Winter," Leanne, a respected archaeologist who was also Nema's mother, had added. "Those three Legendary Pokemon bring us our weather and our changing seasons. If you ask me, it would only fit if we had our gatherings during the birds' awakenings."

"We could exchange news with each other," Nema had finished excitedly. "We can also take the gatherings as an opportunity to celebrate the changing seasons and show our gratitude for peace. If you ask me, it's a great idea. Oblivia needs something to bind the people of the different islands together."

"What does everyone think?" Rand had asked.

A chorus of applause had answered him, and that was the beginning of the Gatherings, which since then were celebrated by the people of Oblivia once every season.

Many aspects of the Gatherings had changed since then. For the first two years, every Gathering was held in Cocona Village. This changed in the third year of the Gatherings, when the Winter Awakening was held on Sophian Island, the Spring Awakening was held on Faldera Island, and the Summer Awakening was held on Layuda Island. This was done because Sophian, Faldera, and Layuda were the homes of Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos respectively, and Leanne felt that the birds' awakenings should be celebrated on the birds' home islands. Besides, Nema had added, holding the Gatherings on different islands was a great way for Oblivians to explore their region. These ideas were met with open arms, and from then on, the Gatherings were held like that.

The third year was also when the name of the festivals changed - they became known collectively as Gatherings, but the Gatherings aside from the traditional Rainbow Festival were renamed into Awakenings because they coincided with the times where the three legendary birds awakened from their slumber. Articuno awoke from xir roost atop Mount Sorbet on Sophian Island every year from January 4th to January 6th; Moltres stirred from xir slumber atop Faldera Volcano on Faldera Island every year from April 4th to April 6th; and Zapdos left xir perch atop Mount Layuda on Layuda Island every year from July 4th to July 6th.

During every Awakening, one of the three legendary birds woke up from xir hibernation and flew around Oblivia, performing the magic that would maintain the weather and seasons in the archipelago.

Supurna remembered the changes Oblivia had gone through since she was born. She knew that during all those changes, she had her ups and downs, but thought that there was never a time where she was as miserable as she was now.

In addition to the creation of the Gatherings, Oblivia had gone through quite a few changes in the past seventeen years. For one thing, the Gatherings had grown bigger and bigger since their inception - as Oblivians spread the word about the Gatherings, more and more people attended the Gatherings over the years.

Supurna's first Gathering was the Winter Awakening of fourteen years ago, and she had enjoyed the festivities so much that she knew she had to attend every Gathering from then on out.

Supurna was happy then.

The second change in Oblivia since the inception of the Gatherings was the general increase in population. Seventeen years ago, only Renbow, Mitonga, and Sophian Island were inhabited, and the villages on those islands were quite small. Now every island was inhabited, Oblivia was becoming more developed, and more people were visiting the archipelago for business and pleasure.

Aqua Resort on Sophian Island was renamed into Aqua Town, because the settlement had become quite large. Cocona Village and Tilt Village were renamed into Cocona Town and Tilt Town, respectively. To this day, the towns were still expanding. Faldera Island now had Magma Village at the base of Faldera Volcano, and Layuda Island now had Spark Village at the foot of Mount Layuda.

Even Tilikule Island, the smallest island of Oblivia that was only the size of several Wailord, was inhabited, but it only had one house - a quaint little settlement that belonged to Supurna herself. Supurna once lived in Aqua Town, but decided to settle on Tilikule Island ten years ago in search of peace, quiet, and solitude.

She quite enjoyed her little island - if she wanted supplies or company, she would easily fly to one of the other islands on her trusty Pelipper's back. Besides, the island had a strange characteristic - it was a vagrant trap. Lost or injured Flying-type Pokemon often ended up on Tilikule Island, and Supurna absolutely loved taking them under her wing and nursing them back to health.

Supurna's husband often helped her care for the Flying-type Pokemon in need of help. Her ex-husband, that is, who was now Arceus-knows-where. He had left Supurna and their two-month-old baby boy a month ago, and he was definitely someone Supurna did not want to think about.

What he did made her miserable - very, very miserable.

Supurna suspected that her son Sparrow, who was born blind, was part of the reason why what happened, happened. But Supurna didn't want to blame her son for her troubles, and knew that it was definitely not the two-month-old baby's fault that she was depressed.

Her beloved son was permanently blind and would never be able to live a normal life. Her husband was permanently gone and would forever leave a bitter stain on Supurna's memory.

No, Supurna was not happy now.

Presently Supurna was lying in bed, feeling angry, depressed, and all-around horrible. On top of all her struggles, she had recently come down with a nasty cold that left her feeling worse than ever before.

So here she was, lying half-dead in the queen bed that she used to share with her ex-husband. A trash can, overflowing with used tissues, sat next to the bed, and an almost empty tissue box was perched on the bedside table.

Supurna broke into a coughing fit and sat up to clear her chest. She then used a tissue to blow her reddened nose.

 _This is going to be a long day_ , she thought miserably as she lay back down and snuggled deep into her warm quilt.

She turned her head and checked the date and time on her bedside clock: 10 A.M., January 5th. Supurna sighed heavily. This year's Winter Awakening was halfway over. She wondered what event was taking place now, as well as what her friends were doing.

Not that she had any intention of contacting them. She was so sick that she couldn't make the trip to Sophian Island, anyways, but even if her physical health was satisfactory she knew she couldn't bear to face everyone. Supurna simply felt too depressed to socialize and take part in the festivities.

Besides, what would they say when they found out that she had given birth to a blind son and she wasn't married anymore? What would they do when they found out what had happened?

Supurna sighed again and realized that she was crying. Using a tissue she wiped away her tears. She wondered how Sparrow was doing and if Pelipper was taking good care of him.

As if to answer her question, her trusty Water Bird Pokemon flew through the open door into her room. He landed on the bed and nuzzled against her face.

"Hey, Pelipper," Supurna croaked hoarsely, scratching her Pokemon's head. "Are you taking good care of Sparrow?"

"Pel," Pelipper chirped, bobbing his head up and down.

"Thank you," Supurna said gratefully, stroking Pelipper's back.

Fearing that Sparrow would contract her illness if he was too close to her, Supurna had asked Pelipper to move her son to another room. The Water Bird Pokemon had obliged, understanding his friend's situation. He had also taken excellent care of Sparrow while Supurna was sick, ensuring that the two-month-old baby was fed his infant formula regularly. Pelipper even changed Sparrow's diapers, a favor Supurna was very grateful for. Once a day Supurna would drag herself out of bed to check on her son, and she was always relieved and warmed to see that Sparrow was comfortable under Pelipper's watchful care.

"I'm so glad you're here," Supurna said to her Pokemon. "Thanks. Thanks for all your help…" She broke into a coughing fit, sat up, and slowly drank some warm water from the cup on her bedside table.

"You should take a rest, Pelipper," Supurna croaked as she lay back down. "You must be exhausted, taking care of Sparrow and me."

Pelipper shook his head, and Supurna smiled, admiring her Pokemon's dedication.

The doorbell rang.

"Pel, pel," Pelipper chirped, rising slowly into the air and flying out of Supurna's room. Half-heartedly, Supurna wondered who had possibly bothered to come to her little house on Tilikule Island. With a cold dread she realized that whoever it was, she couldn't face him or her now.

 _Not when I'm half-dead and miserable like this_ , she thought wretchedly, covering her head with her quilt. A slight chill filled the room, and Supurna shivered. But the cold was gone as quickly as it came.

Supurna could hear Pelipper greeting the visitor at the door. There was a rattle, and the front door creaked open.

"Pelipper!" Pelipper exclaimed, clearly taken aback by whoever was at the door.

"Hello there, Pelipper," a voice said gently. Supurna recognized the bubbly female voice as belonging to Summer. Supurna sighed. Summer was always so heroic and willing to help any human or Pokemon in need. Supurna appreciated this, but wasn't sure if she was ready to share her grievances and bad news with the Ranger. Besides, what was Summer even doing here? Supurna hoped that, whatever the reason for Summer's visit, it wasn't one that would make her even more depressed.

"Is Supurna in?" Summer asked at the front door.

"Pel, Pelipper!" Pelipper exclaimed, obviously still very surprised.

"Oh, yes, I flew here on Articuno," Summer said calmly. "Early this morning everyone was getting ready for a performance. That's when Ben spotted Articuno, who was flying downwards towards us! Then - you won't believe what happened - Articuno landed in front of me! I felt so grateful and amazed. Articuno looked up at me as if xe needed help."

This bit of explanation took Supurna by surprise. Did Articuno - the beautiful, mythical Freeze Pokemon - really approach Summer? And was Articuno here on Tilikule Island xirself? Supurna couldn't believe her luck. She sat up abruptly upon hearing Summer's words. That would explain the chill Supurna felt as Pelipper answered the door.

"Pel," Pelipper chirped at the front door, sounding like he wanted Summer to continue.

"I asked Articuno if xe needed help," Summer continued, "and xe nodded. I asked xir what xe needed, and guessed that it might have something to do with Supurna - everyone was really worried about her, because she hadn't shown up at the Winter Awakening and was unreachable by phone. Articuno nodded and let me climb onto xir back. We took off, assuring the others that we'd come back soon, and that's how we got here. I told Articuno that xe could leave if xe wanted to, but xe shook xir head, wanting to stay here." Summer paused. "Where's Supurna? I've gotta make sure she's okay."

 _I'm not_ , Supurna thought as she heard footsteps. Pelipper was probably leading Summer through the small, quiet house. A few moments later, she heard a knock on her open bedroom door.

"Supurna?" Summer asked. "Are you in there? Can we come in?"

Supurna briefly considered ducking back into the covers and not answering the Ranger, but she wasn't a liar.

"I'm here," Supurna croaked, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose.

"Supurna!" Summer exclaimed with concern, dashing into the room. The Ranger was wearing an orange winter jacket and warm blue pants. Following behind her was the majestic Articuno xirself.

"Summer?" Supurna said. "Articuno is behind you!"

"Supurna, you should have told us that you were sick!" Summer exclaimed worriedly, placing her bag on the ground next to the bed and ignoring Supurna's observation. "We could have sent medicine to you! You know that we're always willing to help." Summer sat down at the side of the bed, and Articuno landed next to the bed and looked at Supurna with a concerned expression.

"What do you need?" Summer pressed. "Do you have a fever? Your nose looks so red! Where's your husband? I'm so sorry, I'm forgetting his name right now. Isn't he taking care of you?"

Supurna sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned back against the headboard. "That's the thing," she said quietly. "He's done something awful, and he's gone. Arceus knows where he is now. He's left me all alone to raise Sparrow - that's the name of my son, my wonderful baby boy. But Sparrow is blind…" Supurna sighed for what felt like the millionth time today and looked away. "And I'm miserable thanks to everything that has happened to me in the past month." Supurna coughed. "On top of all that, I've come down with a nasty cold."

"Ar," Articuno murmured, and bowed xir head.

"Oh, Articuno, I'm so honored that you're here," Supurna croaked, staring in awe at the graceful icy bird. "How did you know that I needed help?"

"I think Articuno cares about you," Summer, who until this time had been silent, said. Articuno nodded, and Summer continued, "Oh, Supurna, I'm so sorry you have to go through all of this. I really am."

She spoke with so much sincerity that Supurna slowly began to feel that she no longer had to hide her problems.

Summer took Supurna's hand and continued, "Why didn't you let me, or Ben, or Nema, or anyone know that you were in trouble? We could have helped you. We're always here for you."

"You would really help me?" Supurna asked, using a tissue to wipe away her tears.

"Of course," Summer said, smiling warmly. "We're your friends."

"I thought… I thought… I was afraid of how everyone would react when they found out what had happened to me," Supurna said truthfully. "I was feeling very depressed, and I didn't feel like calling people - partially because I was just feeling so bad, and partially because I didn't want to dampen anyone's mood."

"Supurna, don't be silly," Summer said, smiling. "We're your true friends, and true friends never, ever judge each other when bad things happen. We're all in this together, am I right?"

"I guess you are," Supurna said, smiling back. Her heart was warmed by her true friend's words, and she felt that she had awakened from a long, sad slumber.

"If you need me to do you any favors, just let me know," Summer said helpfully. "I'm here for you. Do you need anything right now?"

"Can you stay for the Winter Awakening?" Supurna asked. "If it's not too much for you. I can't make it to Sophian Island in the state I'm in, but you can really make this festival wonderful for me by keeping me company, or something. I've been… pretty lonely lately. And let everyone know that I'm sick, but I hope I'll recover."

"I'm sure you will," Summer said honestly. "I'll take care of you and make sure you're okay while you're recovering. Do you… want to talk about what's happened? I'm willing to lend an ear."

"Yeah, I need to get some emotions off my chest," Supurna said, taking a gulp of warm water.

"I'm going to make you some hot chocolate," Summer declared, rising and taking her bag with her. "I brought some powder here. You can drink some warm hot chocolate while we talk, if you want."

"Thanks, Summer. You're too kind," Supurna said gratefully.

"No problem," Summer said cheerfully as she left the room.

Left in her bedroom with Pelipper and Articuno, Supurna realized that her cold felt like it was getting better.

"Cuno," Articuno chirped, bowing xir head and taking a step back.

"Do you need to leave now?" Supurna asked.

The Freeze Pokemon nodded slowly.

"It's okay, Articuno," Supurna said. "If you want to go, go ahead. You're needed to help maintain the weather, anyways. Thanks for realizing that I needed help and bringing Summer here. It really means a lot to me."

"Arti," Articuno chirped, dipping xir head and turning away. Xe walked out of the room, xir tail dragging behind xir on the ground.

Supurna could hear Summer humming as she made hot chocolate. Contentedly, Supurna stroked Pelipper's back, and the Water Bird Pokemon chirped happily.

Supurna remembered happier times - times where she wasn't sick or dealing with unfortunate events in her life. But Supurna now knew that her friends were always going to be there for her, and her unhappy times would not last forever.

-END-


End file.
